FBI storing all US telephone calls

The Land of the Free is having its spooks store all telephone calls while it checks them out for terrorist messages.

A former FBI counterterrorism agent Tim Clemente appeared on CNN to claim that most of the great unwashed did not know the real capabilities and behaviour of the US surveillance state. The comments stem out of anonymous government officials claiming that they are now focused on telephone calls between one of the Boston Bombers and his wife to see if she had prior knowledge of the plot or participated in any way.

The only problem with that was that if the calls were already made, how could the FBI listen to them. Tim Clemente, a former FBI counterterrorism agent was asked about whether the FBI would be able to discover the contents of past telephone conversations between the two. He quite clearly insisted that they could.

He said that there were ways in national security investigations to find out exactly what was said in that conversation. It's not necessarily something that the FBI is going to want to present in court, but it may help lead the investigation and/or lead to questioning of her. We certainly can find that out. He said that all of that stuff is being captured as we speak whether people know it or like it or not.